The assessment

What is the fostering application process like?

Will it feel intrusive? Is it difficult? What happens at panel? The assessment is thorough. Safeguarding always comes first. But it is built to prepare you, not to catch you out.

OfstedRated Good · leadership Outstanding (Nov 2024)

The seven stages, honestly described

Your initial enquiry

An informal chat about your circumstances, your availability and your questions. No obligation. Many people use this call just to decide how they feel.

The home visit

Conversational, not an inspection. We explore your lifestyle and support network, and check you have a spare bedroom and a stable home. Most applicants say they felt reassured, not judged.

Application and checks

Enhanced DBS, personal and employment references, a GP medical, local authority checks and identity verification. Standard safeguarding, explained as we go.

Skills to Foster training

Pre-approval training covering trauma, attachment, safeguarding, working with a child’s family, and the role itself. Most applicants tell us this is the stage where fostering became real.

The Form F assessment

Three to four months with an assessing social worker: your background, relationships, resilience and support network. Reflective rather than intrusive. And personal, because our social workers support around six families.

Fostering panel

An independent panel reads your assessment and meets you, with your social worker beside you. Professional, not hostile.

Agency decision and approval

The Agency Decision Maker confirms the outcome. If approved, you receive your approval status, age range and type of fostering. Approval is the beginning, not the end.

“At Fostering Hearts, we want foster parents to know that they’re not alone when it comes to raising a child in care.”

Emma Rawlinson · Registered Manager

Is the assessment intrusive?

This is the most common fear. The assessment does explore your past and your relationships, because fostering means caring for children who may have experienced trauma, and emotional resilience matters. But you are treated with respect, every question is explained, and nothing happens without transparency. Many carers say they found it reflective and even valuable.

Practical questions

How long does the whole process take?

Four to six months on average. That allows for checks, training, a thorough assessment and panel scheduling. Steady, not slow.

Do you get paid during the process?

No. Fees begin once you are approved and a child is living with you: £479.50 a week for children 0–10, £507.50 for young people 11+, plus a monthly council tax contribution.

What if I'm not approved?

Reasons are explained clearly and respectfully, and reapplying later may be possible.

I'm already an approved carer. Is transferring easier?

Usually, yes. It still involves assessment, but your experience and existing approval are taken into account. We are happy to discuss transfers confidentially.

The process is not designed to exclude people. It is designed to prepare them.

Ask your questions, and explore whether fostering could be the right step. You don’t need to commit today. You just need to begin.